'Unhygienic, dusty' Blinkit warehouse in Hyderabad under FSSAI scanner

Zomato-owned Blinkit's one of the warehouse premises located Hyderabad were found in violation of multiple norms during a raid on June 5, the Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana said

Telangana authorities on Thursday said they would take action against Blinkit, a quick e-commerce platform owned by Zomato, after a raid on one of its warehouses in the Medchal Malkajgiri district in Hyderabad revealed multiple violations.

The raid was conducted by the officials on June 5, the Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana informed in a post on X.

The authorities said that during the inspection, the warehouse premises were found to be very “disorganised, unhygienic and dusty” at storage racks.

“There was no Fostac trainee available. Food handlers were found without headgears, gloves and aprons. Medical fitness certificates of food handlers were not available. Cosmetic products were stored along with food products,” they said.

The Fostac or Food Safety Training & Certification (FoSTaC) programme, launched in 2017, is aimed at creating food safety supervisors (FSS), who are trained in good hygiene and manufacturing practices. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has to provide these training as mandated under India’s food safety regulations.

“A notice will be issued and further action shall be taken accordingly,” the officials said.

Whole Farm Congruence Trade and Services Pvt Ltd was found to violate the FSS Act, as the address on their product labels did not match their licensed address, the post further read, adding that a notice will be issued accordingly.

“The products manufactured by Kamakshi Foods licence found to be expired, hence the products of VSR that is, suji, raw peanut butter, maida, poha, besan and bajra worth Rs 30k were seized,” it added.

The officials also seized suspected infested products from Whole Farm, including Ragi flour and Toor dal worth Rs 52,000. Their samples have been sent to the lab for testing.

The Telangana Commissioner of Food Safety operates under the FSSAI, which is a statutory body under the health ministry entrusted with maintaining food safety standards in India.